


New Kid on the Block

by femmenerd



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Gen, Original Slayer Character, POV Female Character, POV Original Character, Post-Chosen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-03-10
Updated: 2007-03-10
Packaged: 2018-01-15 09:58:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1300804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/femmenerd/pseuds/femmenerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Future. Post-<i>Chosen</i>. </p><p> </p><p>  <i>She still feels out of place. Like there’s been a mistake somehow and that Xander guy had come looking for the wrong girl.</i></p><p> </p><p>(This is sap, I think. Like feminist, gen fluff. Ha.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Kid on the Block

Three weeks ago, everything changed.

Three weeks ago, she’d been stuck in a teensy-weensy, boring town where nothing ever _happened_ –wishing, wishing, wishing for something exciting to go down. Hanging out every Friday night until curfew at the 7-11 drinking slushies until she was sick, feeling simultaneously shy and disgruntled as she toed her boots into the curb while the other girls flirted and laughed and smoked cigarettes that the older boys gave out like nicotine candy.

And then something _did_ happen and now Reggie’s not sure she likes exciting anymore. Exciting was good in theory, but when it actually meant that you were torn away from your mind-numbing 15-year-old life in Nowheresville, Pennsylvania and dragged to England where it rained all the time and guess what? The whole world’s full of _monsters_ and you’re stuck in a dormitory with a bunch of other girls who all seem to be much happier about this whole Slayer gig than you are, then “exciting” isn’t exactly as cool as you’d thought.

Especially if you can’t even kill a _robot_ vampire the way you’re supposed to.

When it was her turn to fight the training bot, Reggie’d panicked. Just as she stabbed her stake in as hard as she could, she could swear she heard her aunt Ruth yelling “Rrrrrrregina, what do you think you’re doing?” and the next thing she knew there were sparks flying out of the damn thing and all the other girls were laughing.

Reggie was afraid she’d be in trouble or something, but then the red-haired lady fixed it and things went back to normal…for everyone else.

She still feels out of place. Like there’s been a mistake somehow and that Xander guy had come looking for the wrong girl. Like maybe it was really Daphne or Sarah who was the one supposed to be chosen. They were both ballsier and talked tougher than Reggie.

The only thing that Reggie’d ever been good at was skating, and she’s pretty sure that skateboards can’t kill vampires, except maybe if you broke your deck and stabbed one with it. And her aim’s for shit so that wasn’t going to work anyhow.

Reggie’s aimlessly throwing punches at one of the bags in the gym when the teacher-lady comes up behind her and scares the bejesus out of her.

“You’ve got a lot of power in there.”

Buffy, her name is Buffy. She’s blonde and pretty in a way that Reggie’d never even really thought about wanting to be, and she’s the _original_ Slayer. Which is a big deal. Apparently.

Reggie swings her head around and stares awkwardly. Buffy’s so small, it’s hard to believe at first glance that she’s really saved the world as many times as she has. But Reggie’s seen her sparring with the other teacher chick, the one called Faith, when they weren’t holding back like they do during training sessions, and she’d had to blink just to try and keep up with watching them.

Reggie has to admit–that was pretty cool.

Buffy puts her hand on her hip and smiles. High wattage. Reggie can feel herself blushing. She doesn’t _deserve_ that smile.

“I can’t wait to see what happens once you focus that crazy energy you’ve got going on,” Buffy says, acting totally oblivious to any extreme dorkiness on the part of one Regina Mae Kirkland.

“Um, yeah,” Reggie stammers. She’s suddenly struck with a very strange sensation—like she wants this lady to like her, wants to impress her in some way.

Buffy leans in conspiratorially. “I’ll tell you a secret.” Reggie cocks her head and waits. “The first vamp that attacked me?” Buffy’s eyes sweep the weight room with an exaggerated gesture. She cups her hand to her mouth and whispers into Reggie’s ear. “I missed.”

Reggie gulps. “Really?” she squeaks.

“Yup, really.” Buffy stands up straight again.

“What happened then?” Reggie asks quickly, which was probably more words than she’d let out willingly in the last week.

“Oh, well then he insulted my outfit and I dusted his ass.” Buffy grins, and Reggie can’t help but follow suit. “You’re gonna be fine,” Buffy says, and pats Reggie’s shoulder in that way that grown ups do when they want to make you feel better. But for once, it doesn’t annoy Reggie. In fact, it kinda works.

She can still feel a trace of that doubtful look on her face though.

“I’ll even prove it to ya. You, me and the practice mats have a standing date here after classes if you want it.”

“Um, OK.”

“Cool. Prepared to get worked.” Buffy grins again and sashays off.

*****

This definitely is _not_ like one of those movie montages where the upstart kid learns everything to the space and beat of a three and half minute long song.

For one thing, there’s a lot of work involved. And also sweat. And a lot of falling down on your bony butt.

Also, in the movies, the Wise One was never a perky, blonde big-sister type who gets into squabbles about designer denim.

“Faith! Are those _my_ jeans you’re wearing?”

“Damn straight, B, and shit, but they look hot on me,” Faith says, slapping her own ass and twirling around for show.

Reggie watches as Buffy pointedly sticks her tongue out as Faith blows her a kiss on her way out the door. “We’ll all be eatin’ ice cream while you losers keep on _working,_ ” Faith announces. “Seeeee ya later.”

Once the other slayer’s left the gym, Buffy turns back to where Reggie’s leaning over, out of breath with her hands splayed out over bent knees. She rolls her eyes dramatically. Did Mr. Miyagi ever roll his eyes?

“She’s such a beyotch,” Buffy says affectionately. And then, “Oops, I didn’t say that. Don’t tell, all right?”

Reggie nods and doesn’t say anything, feeling mute even though she knows it was a rhetorical question anyway. The only person here she’d _really_ feel weird about saying a half-swear like that around would be Mr. Giles. Although Buffy claims he’s actually “pretty hip for an old guy” if you get to know him.

The rest of the training session goes surprisingly quickly, and Reggie even puts in a few good punches. So she’s feeling like less of a total loser as she and Buffy walk through the streetlight half-brightness in the direction of the ice cream place. For an adult, Buffy bounces a lot, Reggie thinks, as she watches Buffy animatedly talk with her hands.

“Oh, here we go–short cut!” Buffy says, grabbing Reggie’s arm and interrupting her own stream-of-consciousness flow of words.

They’re not three steps into the alleyway when a vampire, an honest-to-god, _real_ vampire wearing–or all things–a New Kids on The Block T-Shirt busts out of nowhere.

“Oh my god, _lame_ ,” Reggie actually says out loud as her stake mysteriously finds its way both into her hand and straight into the heart of the bad-permed, undead skeez. Then she stands there, shaking, staring at the pile of dust gathering on her worn steel-toes, unable to say anything else at first.

When she finally starts feeling a little bit less like she’s about to pee, scream, or fall the hell over, Reggie looks up at Buffy and accuses, “You totally set that up, didn’t you?”

Buffy just smiles and looks nonchalant. “What? A vamp attacking a ‘poor, defenseless, young girl’ in a dark alley? Sorry, not guilty. That happens all the time.”

Reggie opens and closes her mouth like a girl-fish. Buffy grins at her even wider, and Reggie finds herself randomly hoping that if they’d been the same age, she would have voted for Buffy for prom-queen. Because if beauty queens and little skate rats can _both_ kick ass, it means the world doesn’t suck quite as much as it seems like it does sometimes.

“I always liked Jordan best,” Buffy muses as they round the block, and then Reggie considers taking it back. But not really.

*****


End file.
